TV Times

TV Times

Robert Crusz :The man behind ‘Short Notes’
Along with Ashley and Ranjanee Rathnavibhushana of Asian Film Centre, the man who took up the uphill task of organising "Short Notes" was Robert Crusz.
Robert Crusz is also a writer, and film and video maker, and was a founding member, in 1983, of the U.K. based Sankofa Film and Video Workshop, which produced critical documentaries for British television companies like Channel 4 and feature films based on issues related to the lives of Asian, African and Afro-Caribbean people living in Europe and North America. The workshop was actively involved in media education and training for Black British youth, sponsored by the British Film Institute and the U. K. Arts Council.

Crusz was on the editorial boards of SCREEN and FRAMEWORK, two leading film journals in the U.K. and was the British Council sponsored Visiting Filmmaker in Australia in 1989, conducting training seminars for members of the indigenous Aboriginal community in Sydney. He is currently on the editorial board of the inter-faith journal DIALOGUE, edited by Fr. Aloysius Pieris and published by the Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue in Sri Lanka.

He is also editor of the English language international film journal CINESITH, published by the Asian Film Centre, in Sri Lanka. Among his filmography as writer/director is a docu-drama INBETWEEN produced for Channel 4 TV in the U.K. which also toured the world as part of the 1992 biennial package of the Best of British Independent Film and Video under the auspices of the British Council and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (U.K.). His most recent production was THE CENSUS, a short film based on a short-story by the late Kerala writer Karoor Nilakantha Pillai.

He spoke to the TV Times about the courageous step taken up by him for the development of Sri Lankan cinema… What gave you the idea of organising this type of film festival? I wanted to provide an opportunity to the Sinhala speaking rural youth who have the potential to be creative film makers. Giving this opportunity to then is also a way of contributing towards the Sri Lankan Cinema. And this is also an effort to highlight the work of some of our talented young filmmakers and to help create a viable culture of short filmmaking in this country which we feel is an essential first step towards rejuvenating Sri Lankan cinema.

Can you tell us about Tulana?
Our objective is awareness-the awareness of making the voices of the minority heard in the public arena.
What are the qualities that you admire in these amateur filmmakers?
It is their love of filmmaking which makes them tenacious. They have used basic equipment in filming, used low budget locations effectively. Post production, too was done at places with minimum facilities and thus they surely deserves accolades and applause. This festival is a small effort in recognition of their unfailing courage and brave endurance.
What do you hope to gain with from exposure?

Unfortunately, due to financial and other constraints, we can only show about a dozen films here today. There are many more young filmmakers in Sri Lanka who have made short films and are desperate to screen them for the public.
We seek sponsorship- the government taking an active interest with the National Film Corporation organising Annual Short film festivals and competitions and award ceremonies. We also seek the sponsorship of kind philanthropists and film enthusiasts.

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